


impossible, inevitable

by adamganseys



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M, Tumblr Prompt, these idiots can't resist a challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-04
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-08-28 23:35:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8467384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adamganseys/pseuds/adamganseys
Summary: Adam sighs exaggeratedly. “It’ll just be a peck on the lips, Lynch. Perfunctory and boring, just to show Henry that he’s an idiot. It’s not like it’ll mean anything.”Somewhere in the back of his head, Adam knows he’s making a terrible and dangerous decision, but all he can currently think about is the righteousness and pride flowing through him. He refuses to let anyone else tell him how he feels, least of all a rich, entitled Aglionby boy. (Or, my response to the prompt then there's tongue, where Henry thinks Adam and Ronan are boyfriends, so obviously they have to kiss to prove him wrong)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Loosely based off of [this](https://youtu.be/egPTDjnEcs8?t=1m43s) Dan/Blair scene from Gossip Girl. It probably doesn't even really follow the prompt because I don't know exactly what it meant lmao. This is also posted on [tumblr](http://adamparrush.tumblr.com/post/152716863965/cough-44-pls-cough)!

Adam doesn’t know why Henry Cheng is hanging out with Gansey at Monmouth, but he doesn’t like it. Ronan seems to agree with that sentiment, with the way he’s glaring at Gansey and Cheng bent together over the Henrietta model from his place on the couch.

Gansey’s friendship with Henry is new and unsettling, and this is the first time Gansey has let Henry into Monmouth. At least, that Adam knows of. He can’t help the spike of jealousy that rises up inside him. He knows it’s unfair; Henry’s nice, after all, even if he’s a little irritating.

When Adam enters the warehouse, Ronan’s eyes immediately travel to him and he makes an exaggerated sound of relief. Gansey and Henry don’t even look up from their surely riveting conversation.

Adam sits next to Ronan on the couch, and Ronan nods in greeting. “Parrish.”

“Lynch.”

Gansey finally looks up and spots Adam. “Adam. You’re here. When did you get here?”

“Uh, just now.”

“Oh. Didn’t hear you come in.”

“Maybe because you were too busy being a nerd for the past fucking hour,” Ronan snipes. “Jesus, what have you and Cheng possibly been discussing for this long?”

Gansey adjusts his glasses. “Ronan, you’ve been right here the entire time.”

“Doesn’t mean I was listening. I try very hard to tune you out when I can, Dick. It’s how I stay sane.”

Gansey rolls his eyes. “Right. Well, if you must know, we were talking about student government and—“

Ronan yawns very loudly. “Bored already.”

“The Aglionby administration is a disgrace and I’m trying to improve it, despite the many difficulties,” Henry says, annoyed. “Wouldn’t kill you to take a little interest in the goings on of your school, Lynch.”

“I think it would, actually.”

Henry sighs, and Adam can feel the judgment all the way from where he’s sitting. “You’re a Neanderthal. Parrish, you seem like a trustworthy guy, knock some sense into your boyfriend, would you?”

Adam and Ronan both freeze, and Gansey’s mouth drops open in a shocked “O”. Suddenly the room is so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Adam can feel his ears turn bright red.

Adam coughs. “You—I—Sorry, what?”

“I’m just saying, Lynch might actually listen to you and—“

“What,” Ronan growls, “the fuck are you talking about?” His hands are gripping the edge of the sofa so hard that Adam is afraid the fabric will tear.

“Henry,” Gansey says, his tone disapproving in a way Adam had never heard it when he was speaking to Henry, “I didn’t take you for being homophobic. Using the word ‘boyfriend’ in a derogatory manner is—“

Henry simply laughs. “ _Derogatory?_ Richardman, it’s not derogatory if it’s true.” Then, Henry adds meaningfully, “Besides, I’m bisexual. I thought I’d made that abundantly clear.”

Adam opens his mouth, closes it, then lets out a forced laugh. “You think—me and _Ronan_? You’re kidding.”

Because, really, him and Ronan Lynch? Even the thought of it is absurd. Sure, they don’t hate each other the way they used to; they’re friends now, even occasionally hanging out together outside of their time with Gansey, like last week when they’d taken turns dragging each other on a moving dolly behind the BMW. But that friendship is still tentative and tumultuous, and most days they still explode at each other over something stupid regardless.

So, him and Ronan, in a relationship? Ronan Lynch, being interested in Adam Parrish, of all people, romantically? Impossible.

Henry looks alarmed, all of a sudden. “Shit, are you guys hiding your relationship or something? Didn’t mean to blow your cover.”

“I— _no_. Jesus. There’s no relationship to hide. I don’t know where you even got that impression,” Adam says, heart beating ridiculously fast for some reason.

Henry scrunches up his eyebrows, faltering and looking truly confused for the first time. He studies them intensely before saying, sounding utterly lost, “Wait, you two _aren’t_ …?”

“ _No_ ,” Ronan grits out, glaring daggers at Henry.

Adam feels a strange pang of hurt at the venom in Ronan’s voice. Is even the concept of being with Adam really that bad?

But, of course it is. Hadn’t Adam already established the idea that it was absurd? So why was he suddenly upset?

“We’re just friends, Cheng,” Adam says, voice a little tight. He adds, “Barely even that, really.”

Henry stares at the two of them, narrowing his eyes, and then bursts into loud, obnoxious laughter.

Adam and Ronan exchange a look, then look back at Henry. “ _What?_ ” Adam snaps.

When Henry can stop guffawing long enough to speak, he says, sounding amused, “Yeah, okay. Sure. You two aren’t dating. Alright. The whole of Aglionby is just misguided, then.”

Adam’s stomach drops. “There are more people who think this?”

Henry snorts. “Of course. The whole school’s thinking it, man. Either you two are banging or will bang eventually.”

Gansey clears his throat, uncomfortable. “Henry, you’re mistaken. These two can hardly stand each other on a good day.”

“That’s what you think,” Henry retorts. "Besides, the two aren't mutually exclusive." 

Ronan stands up abruptly and starts storming towards his room. “Fuck this,” He snarls, back turned away. Adam’s eyes catch on the swirls of his tattoo peeking out from underneath his black tank. “I’m not listening to this bullshit.”

“Ronan—,” Adam starts.

“Hey, hey, Lynch, don’t be like that, man,” Henry says, sounding genuinely apologetic. “Forget I said anything.”

Ronan whirls around. “You’ll still be thinking it, though, won’t you?”

Henry shrugs. “Since when do you care what I think?”

“For the last time, Henry,” Adam says, exasperated, “There’s nothing going on between me and Ronan and there never will be. So stop saying it and stop thinking it.”

Something dark flickers over Ronan’s face at the words, but it passes too quickly for Adam to name.

“Sure,” Henry says lightly, clearly not convinced.

Frustration wells up in Adam. “You seriously don’t believe us?”

“It’s not my place to say,” Henry replies, trying to be diplomatic.

“Oh, just spit it out,” Adam bites.

Henry holds out his hands as if surrendering, his eyes darting a quick look at Ronan’s tightly coiled form. “I’m just saying, and I speak from experience, a mere kiss can bring out feelings deeply buried—“

“There are no feelings to bring out!” Adam exclaims, anger and annoyance oozing out of him. “You know what? I’ll prove it.”

Adam gets up and walks over to Ronan. “I’ll kiss him, and it won’t do anything for either of—“

“ _What?_ ” Ronan’s expression goes from apprehensive to furious. “We’re not doing that, Parrish.”

Adam sighs exaggeratedly. “It’ll just be a peck on the lips, Lynch. Perfunctory and boring, just to show Henry that he’s an idiot. It’s not like it’ll mean anything.”

Somewhere in the back of his head, Adam knows he’s making a terrible and dangerous decision, but all he can currently think about is the righteousness and pride flowing through him. He refuses to let anyone else tell him how he feels, least of all a rich, entitled Aglionby boy. Or, apparently way more than one rich, entitled Aglionby boy, if what Henry said is true.

Henry’s face turns up in glee. “Oh, I’d love to see this. Really. Please go on and prove me wrong.”

Ronan’s face was very conflicted, but Henry’s smirk apparently makes his decision for him. Ronan can never turn down a challenge, after all. “Only to fucking wipe that smug look off your face, Cheng.”

“Go ahead,” Henry drawls. “Just a small peck on the lips. Nothing passionate. If you two can restrain yourselves.”

Adam scoffs. “Won’t be a problem.”

Adam turns to Ronan, who is already looking at him with an intense look in his eyes. Adam thinks he detects a little bit of nervousness in that expression, but it’s probably just a trick of the light. Suddenly, Adam finds the prospect of kissing Ronan Lynch more daunting than expected, but he’s not one to back down from anything.

So, without thinking about it further, he leans forward and kisses Ronan.

It’s barely a kiss, really, their lips only pressed together for a mere second. Adam was supposed to pull back immediately, was supposed to step at least a foot away from Ronan afterward. Instead, he stays in Ronan’s orbit for a few seconds, his lips still buzzing from that tiny brush against Ronan’s, for some unfathomable reason. Their foreheads aren’t touching, but it’s a near thing. There’s a moment where Adam and Ronan’s eyes meet, the same  _thing_ that Adam cannot name in both of them.

And then, just as Adam is about to get it together and step away, Ronan kisses him back, his hand coming up to cup Adam’s cheek, thumb brushing over cheekbone, sending shivers up Adam’s spine.

Adam’s mind empties. He forgets the reason he did this in the first place, forgets Gansey and Henry’s presence in the room. All that exists is Ronan Lynch’s lips, moving against him so effortlessly that Adam feels weak in the knees.

Adam automatically tilts his head for a better angle, and his hands come up to rest on Ronan’s chest. Adam thinks he feels Ronan sigh into his mouth, or that might’ve been Adam sighing, or both of them. His eyes had fluttered closed and he hadn’t even noticed.

His tongue licks the seam of Ronan’s lips – _how did that happen?_ – and Ronan parts his mouth, and then _oh_ , their tongues are wrapping around each other. Ronan makes a low, desperate noise in his throat.

It’s a little sloppy, but Adam doesn’t care. His experience only consists of messy makeout sessions with a few girls, and he doesn’t know who Ronan has kissed, if he’s kissed anyone, but they make it work.

Ronan’s one hand grips Adam’s t-shirt over his lower back, and the other moves from his cheek to the back of his neck, fingers sliding into the dusty hair at the nape.

Adam’s mouth meets Ronan’s mouth again and again and again, turning more desperate by the second, tongues colliding with each other fiercely.

Someone clears their throat.

Adam and Ronan jump apart instantly, meeting the faces of a very shocked Gansey and a very amused Henry.

“Well,” Henry starts, grinning wide, “Thanks, Parrish. Lynch. You two really showed me up there. What a chaste kiss. No obscene amount of tongue or ungodly noises at all. Congratulations.”

Adam dares a glance at Ronan to see that the other boy is just as flushed as he is, though if it’s from the kiss or from embarrassment, Adam doesn’t know. If Ronan’s like him, then likely a bit of both.

Neither of them say anything, stunned into silence.

_What the hell just happened?_

Henry lets out a tired breath and stands up, holding his hand out to Gansey. “Come on, Richardman. We should leave and let these two sort out their shit—“

“That’s not necessary,” Adam says hastily, nerves making it hard to speak.

Henry ignores him, and Gansey concedes to Henry’s request without a word. As they walk towards the Monmouth door, Henry asks, “Want to go to Nino’s? Or, hey, maybe we can follow in Parrish and Lynch’s footsteps and try a little kiss of our own, huh?”

Adam watches as the back of Gansey’s neck turns bright red. “Oh—I—Um—I don’t know if—,” Gansey sputters helplessly.

Henry just laughs as he walks out the door. “Calm down, Gansey Boy, you can admit your massive crush on me in due time, whenever you’re ready.”

The door shuts behind them and drowns out Gansey’s reply.

Adam and Ronan stay frozen in their spots. The silence is deafening for almost a whole minute.

Ronan speaks first, shoving his hands in his pockets . “Now that this shitshow is over and Cheng has finally left us the fuck alone, I’m gonna get going.” He takes the BMW keys out of his jeans pocket and starts walking towards the door.

Adam is too dazed to move for a moment, and then he scrambles to catch up with Ronan. He grabs his wrist instinctively, making Ronan flinch, so Adam pulls away. Ronan turns around, but Adam is too afraid to look at him.

He stares at his feet when he finally says, voice weak, “It was still just a kiss. So, what, you’re a good kisser and it lasted for longer than it was supposed to. Big deal. That doesn’t mean anything, right?”

When Adam manages to finally look up, Ronan is already looking at him, and his expression his inscrutable. His mouth is set in a thin, tight line and he doesn’t say anything.

Adam scratches the back of his neck. “Unless…” He takes a deep breath. “Unless it did mean something.”

Ronan’s jaw clenches further, and Adam swallows. Voice almost a whisper, he asks, “Did it?”

Ronan averts his gaze and says, quieter than Adam expected, “It’s meant something to me for a while, Parrish.”

Ronan and Adam. Adam and Ronan. Impossible.

Adam blows out a breath. “Oh,” He says in a small voice.

Or maybe inevitable.

Ronan scowls. “Wipe that look off your face. It doesn’t—it’s whatever. Forget it.”

“Ronan—“

“Parrish, don’t—“

“ _Ronan_.”

Ronan’s eyes go wide because Adam is suddenly right in front of him, their chests almost touching. Adam’s breaths are suddenly quick and shallow.

Adam places a hand on Ronan’s chest, sliding it upward. “Ronan.”

When Adam says _Ronan_ , it means _Ronan_.

“Adam,” Ronan says, and the deep timbre of his voice nearly makes Adam shudder.

Adam leans closer. His forehead is against Ronan’s, and his other hand bunches Ronan’s tank between his fingers. The grip is tight, desperate.

“Ronan,” Adam murmurs against Ronan’s lips before kissing him.

He doesn’t know how long they're kissing, but eventually Ronan pulls away to catch his breath, pressing his face into Adam’s shoulder.

“Maybe we should send Henry a thank you card,” Adam says, breathing hard.

Ronan laughs against his shoulder and pulls back. “Well, we’ll just tell him one of the many times I’m sure he’ll be coming over here in the future. What with being Gansey’s new boyfriend and all.”

Adam grins. “We can go on double dates.”

Ronan’s face does something funny at the words, but then he just snorts and says, “A double date with Cheng and Gansey? Christ, can you imagine? Nothing but talk about Welsh kings and Aglionby and boring shit. No thanks. Besides,” Ronan adds after a moment, expression almost shy as he looks down at his feet, “I’d much rather go on a date with just us.”

Adam smiles. “That can be arranged.” Then, “God, Henry will never let us live this down. Neither will Gansey.”

Ronan shrugs, sliding his fingers into Adam’s. “I don’t care what they say.”

“I can’t believe it, though,” Adam muses, sounding a little awed. “I mean… this…. How did Cheng even know? How did anyone at Aglionby? I wasn’t even—Jesus.” Adam knows he sounds a little hysterical, but his disbelief about this bizarre situation is driving him crazy. “How is this even happening? I mean, it’s _us_.”

Ronan raises an eyebrow. “And what’s so wrong about that?”

Adam exhales, gaze boring into Ronan’s, his heart doing a strange somersault in his chest. “Nothing,” Adam says softly. “Nothing’s wrong about that.”

In fact, there’s something immensely right about it. Adam doesn’t understand it, but he knows it’s true.

Instead of replying, Ronan kisses him again.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always super appreciated. Find me on tumblr or twitter @adamparrush.


End file.
